Piranha
Piranha Advancements (formerly known as Pir-hana) are an Anti-Gravity racing team based in Brazil, although they also once appeared as a China-based team. They first appeared as a secret team in Wipeout 2097 and later become a playable team in the next installments. History Pir-hana was formed in 2044 as a result of a merger between two smaller Brazilian companies: Pir and Hana. Despite the subtle and mysterious appearance of the team, they had played an important role of the creation of Anti-Gravity Racing by establishing the Anti-Gravity Federation and the Anti-Gravity Racing Championship. Mysteriously, the team pulled out of AG racing entirely before the F3600 League was announced in 2050. They were bought out and relocated to China. From then, they produced airbrakes for AG Systems and Auricom craft before returning to craft development in 2060 under the new name of Piranha Advancements. Since then, the team started to gain a reputation as fierce perfectionists. The team brought this reputation to a craft of their own for the first time in 47 years in the F5000 League in 2097, entering a prototype craft that was literally perfect in every statistical area. Its only flaw was that it could not use weapons, but with sheer power and agility, this flaw was usually compensated for by the most skilled pilots. In the F7200 League, with the team having returned to Brazil, their craft was no longer godlike in all stats, but was still a strong performer overall. Their perfectionism was consistent throughout the team's journey, as Aries Piermont, the company owner at the time of the F9000 League, always emphasized aiming as high as possible. This was further evident with Piranha's acqusition of Assegai in 2150. As a result, the Piranha craft was one of the best in the F9000 League thanks to Assegai's handling technologies. Even with this passing, the team continued to believe in his vision, although around this time the team changed in terms of performance. Through the great recession, Piranha withdrew from the public eye before the F9000 League was abolished, but continued operations at their secure factory base in Brazil. Images captured by covert surveillance over the years showed that Piranha employees were busy indeed, with constant activity being recorded at their wind tunnels and fabrication facilities. However, with no outlook for their development, Piranha suffered from a major financial crisis. They sold the Assegai name back to the United African Nations in 2181, and were eventually acquired by the Brazilian government. Secretive as ever, a surprise appearance at the Anti-Gravity Rebirth Festival in 2185 confirmed that Piranha were most certainly continuing to develop their trademark style of sleek and agile craft. Although they took a limited role in the development of the FX150 League, Piranha somehow pressed the League Commission hard for the introduction of a professional series, and that resulted in the announcement of the FX300 League in 2195. The Piranha ship in the FX300 League had shown such the superior top speed, making it untouchable at the straights. However, the ship's lack of thrust and handling prevented the Piranha team from becoming a considerable contender. As they struggled with this, the team were unable to score as many wins as they did in the far past. Disappointed at the final results, Piranha decided to move on to join the FX400 League. They had created a new ship, which they claimed to be the fastest since they returned to AG racing. Nobody even dared to argue about this, but perhaps Icaras were the only ones to do so. Nevertheless, the Piranha team would see themselves as they tried to repeat their early success from the front of the grid. FX300 Background From the day that Piranha Advancements' unarmed prototype rocked the F5000 League in the late 2090's, its consistently strong performance has been the envy of almost every other team. The team's trademark sleek, fast craft have remained competitive through each evolution of anti-gravity racing and, in the hands of the right pilot, have dominated the opposition. Always mysterious, Piranha is back for the FX300 League with a ship secretly developed over an unknown time period in anticipation of the return of professional AG racing. FX400 Background Back with a vengeance after five years of uncertainty behind the scenes, Piranha bring what's claimed to be the engine with the fastest top end performance since the return of professional AG Racing in 2197. None, except maybe Icaras with their own extreme power-plant, are going to argue the point. Now back under the control of the Brazilian government, the Piranha team don't have the financial depth that they previously enjoyed. The new chassis needs work, too – it's not the best when the track gets twisty. But that engine is going to be hard to beat in a straight line, make no mistake. FX400 Message Statement issued by Piranha Director of Racing Operations, Zack Vilma, São Paulo, Brazil Since the turn of the century and the passing of Aries Piermont, Piranha has travelled a sometimes difficult and treacherous path. With Aries' death I lost a great friend and a man I looked to daily for guidance and inspiration. Piranha the team lost not just our leader, but our reason for being. Thus, we have struggled on like a ship without a rudder for the past six years, unsure of tomorrow, unsure of our ultimate destiny. Now, as the man chosen to replace Aries Piermont, I have set our team on the road to recovery mindful of something he once told me: 'It is not enough just to run the team – one must lead the team.' For Brazil, for the fans, and for Aries I will do my very best to follow that advice and return our team to the front of the pack, starting with the inaugural season of the FX400 Racing League. Appearance, Evolution & Stats The Piranha ships have always had a highly aerodynamic shape, resembling a fish. As Aries Piermont's vision implies, Piranha devoured most of the grid with its perfectionism. In Wipeout 2097, the craft had perfect stats in every area, but lacked the ability to fire weapons. This craft is possibly the hardest to control in the game due to its insanely high speeds. In Wipeout 3, the craft was very mobile with moderate to high speed, but low shield, due to the craft's very lightweight frame. In Wipeout Fusion, the craft returned to its 2097 reincarnation in terms of stats, though not as perfect. However, in the post-Piermont era, the ships have generally been heavier, with very high top speed and shield, compensating for poor thrust and handling, despite the retained aerodynamic design (probably due to state ownership). As such, it is difficult to control without mastering the use of airbrakes. However, once the tough handling is mastered and the wall and weapon impacts are minimized, it can truly devour the competition with raw speed and power. Therefore, avoiding any wall grinding, and when possible, weapon hits, is recommended. In Pure, Piranha is the fastest ship compared to the other ships in the starting line-up, perfect for open circuits. However, due to the low thrust, it will take a long time to reach the top speed. Also, the lack of handling proves a problem on the technical tracks. Apart from those, the ship shielding is somewhat mediocre. The ship model in Pure is reused for Pulse and HD, having the shield improved while maintaining the high top speed. The lack of thrust and handling may be the cause of issues, remember though, that if these issues are held off, it will be able to outrun the competition. The Piranha Fury ship shows the explicit improvement of the thrust, which at least has solved the problem on low acceleration. In addition, the minor handling improvement makes the ship slightly better at turning. Gallery Pir-hana2048.jpg|Pir-hana logo from Wipeout 2048 Pir-hana2048_B.png|Alternate Pir-hana logo from Wipeout 2048 Piranha_WO2097.png|Piranha logo from Wipeout 2097 Piranha_WO3.png|Pirhana logo from Wipeout 3 332821-pirhana.gif|Pirhana wallpaper from Wipeout 3 Piranhafusion.png|Piranha logo from Wipeout Fusion PIRANHA800X600.JPG|Piranha wallpaper from Wipeout Fusion Piranha_pure.png|Piranha logo from Wipeout Pure Piranha_pulse.png|Piranha logo from Wipeout Pulse Piranha_header.png|Alternate Piranha logo from Wipeout Pulse Piranha_1024x768.jpg|Piranha wallpaper from Wipeout Pulse Trivia *"Piranha" is an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers, noticeable with its sharp teeth and a voracious appetite for meat. *In Wipeout 3, the in-game team name is misspelt as "Pirhana" for undisclosed reasons. *One of Piranha's mottos in the F9000 League, "Just when you thought it was safe...", is a reference to the 1978 film Jaws 2. Category:Teams